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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lash · arm · lie · pop · cold · mate · rush · field

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rush — hurry
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pop — soda
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mate — a partner
  12. field — a subject
  13. pop — to visit
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mate — a friend
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. field — for sport
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com